Toyota Supra Offers Four-Cylinder Engine in Japan

Small engine offered in two different states of tune

16 January, 2019Kelly Pleskot

16 January, 2019Kelly Pleskot

Small engine offered in two different states of tune

The 2020 Toyota Supra made its long-awaited debut at the Detroit auto show. The American version will come exclusively with an inline-six-cylinder engine just like all previous generations of the Supra. But customers in Japan will have the option to buy one with a four-cylinder.

That shouldn’t come as too big a surprise considering the BMW Z4 that shares its platform and drivetrains with the Mk V also offers a turbo-four, but the idea of a four-banger Supra is still a little weird to us. In Japan, Toyota is offering a 2.0-liter twin-scroll turbocharged inline-four in two different states of tune. The more conservative one makes 194 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque, enough to propel the car to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 6.5 seconds, according to Toyota. The more robust version makes 255 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque, matching the BMW Z4 sDrive30i. Toyota says this engine allows the Supra to hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in 5.2 seconds.

Both four-cylinder options come paired with an eight-speed automatic, just like the inline-six that is also available in Japan. As we learned at the Detroit show, the twin-scroll turbo-six engine makes 335 hp and 365 lb-ft of torque. According to Toyota, it can hit 60 mph in 4.1 seconds, making it the quickest Toyota-branded production vehicle ever.

Toyota has given no indication that we should expect a four-cylinder Supra in North America. Normally, we’d take a moment to lament the fact that we can’t have this forbidden fruit, but in this case we’re cool with the version we have—especially after hearing the sweet sound of that turbocharged straight-six.